Operation Pericles 1

Operation Pericles 1 was a series of retaliatory air strikes launched by the United States against the Syrian Arab Republic in response to the shootdown of an unarmed US Air Force transport aircraft, which had killed 57 Americans. The Americans bombed two ammo dumps, an abandoned railroad bridge, and a Syrian intelligence building.

Background
In 1999, a US Air Force transport aircraft carrying 58 military healthcare workers to a medical training school in Amman, Jordan was shot down over Tartus, Syria, killing all on board. Initially, it was believed to be a mechanical failure, and an extremist group later claimed to have shot down the plane with a shoulder-mounted missile launcher. However, it was later revealed that the Syrian Defense Ministry had ordered the shootdown, and President Josiah Bartlet demanded a response to the shootdown. The Joint Chiefs of Staff planned to target two ammunition dumps, an abandoned railroad bridge, and an Syrian intelligence agency headquarters. USS Coral Sea and USS George Washington were to launch strikes against the targets. President Bartlet, who had lost his personal physician Morris Tolliver on the plane, asked the virtue of a proportional response, and demanded "total disaster" for the Syrians. The National Security Council put together a new scenario, in which the Americans would attack the Hassan Airport, its three main terminals, and two runways. Thousands of civilian casualties were expected, and the strike would cripple the region's ability to receive both bottled water and medical supplies; its excessive nature and the lack of support from both outside of and within the USA would make Bartlet look like an overreacting first-time commander-in-chief. After pressure from his chief of staff, Leo McGarry, Bartlet agreed to go with the proportional response, which would cripple the Syrian intelligence network and surface-to-air strike capability.

Operation
At 4:27 AM, the order was given to execute "Pericles 1". Two munitions dumps in northern Rashan, Saffian Bridge, and the intelligence headquarters were struck at 6:30 AM, and President Bartlet spoke to the nation at 9:00 AM in a televised address from the Oval Office. The strikes were seen as adequate retaliation by the military, and Bartlet was pleased with the resolution of the conflict after McGarry had a private conversation with him and convinced him to calm down.